Woman Forcibly Removed From Home, In Spite Of Restraining Order Against Citibank

A woman in El Paso has been fighting foreclosure for several months, saying she was making payments and that Citibank was crediting them to an escrow account without telling her or explaining why. A federal court recently issued a temporary restraining order preventing the bank from foreclosing while the case is litigated, but that didn’t stop county constables from forcibly removing her from her home last week.

“CitiMortgage foreclosed on the house claiming that I had not made payments on the loan. I had,” she tells El Paso’s KTSM-TV, which has been following the story for quite some time. “I have proof that I had. I don’t want my money back. This is my home and I have the right to be here.”

And that lack of communication with the bank seems to have been extended to the local County Attorney’s office, which says it didn’t know there was a restraining order in place the day it sent constables to evict the homeowner.

“One day they tell me yeah you’re ok you’re litigating. The next day they say we’re coming back to evict you tomorrow,” says the woman. “The laws are not defending me the homeowner. You know I presume that people are innocent until proven guilty. I’m guilty until proven innocent.”

When her lawyer showed up to explain the situation, he says the constables would not believe him unless he went with them to the court house to confirm the order’s existence.

“It appears they’re not honoring the judge’s order. The county attorney is challenging his authority (Federal Judge) to issue a restraining order,” says the lawyer, who says his client appears to be a victim of robosigning.

The lawyer says that many of the of the foreclosure and eviction documents for homes in the area have been signed by the same person, though he claimes the signatures do not all match.

“We don’t have County Clerks that pay attention to what papers are being filed,” said the homeowner.

A rep for Citi provided the following laughably useless comment to KTSM:

Over the past year, Citi has significantly enhanced its oversight of mortgage foreclosure law firms. These enhancements included strengthening policies and procedures, hiring dedicated resources to oversee law firm performance, and increasing the frequency and scope of Citi’s onsite law firm audit program.

That’s really swell. But what about the woman with the restraining order?